Page 18 - Climate Control News Magazine March 2021

In Focus
Training RAC workforce of today and beyond
The new version of certificate III will be implemented next year.
Recent disasters such as Grenfell Towers in the United Kingdom as well as building fires in Australia have led to regulators revising stand- ards and regulations in the building sector.
This has influenced many of the units current- ly in development. Every commercial building higher than three stories must be designed, in- stalled and maintained in accordance with stringent codes and practices.
Technicians who do the maintenance on emergency lighting and alarm systems, must be competent to do the work safely. As a result a new unit of competency has been proposed cov- ering the maintenance of emergency lighting and alarm systems.
To ensure the implementation of the new
“A TYPICAL VRF SYSTEM IS COMPLEX ESPECIALLY THE CONTROLS.”
course is consistent across the entire country, assessment tools are being developed by a repre- sentative group of refrigeration and air condi- tioning (RAC) teachers known as the RACTA (Training Alliance).
Currently the Alliance has 67 members repre- senting almost all of the RAC trade teachers in Australia from both public (TAFE) and private Registered Training Organisations (RTOs).
RACTA is seeking support from industry to ensure the tools meet the needs of employers.
Interested parties should contact Steve Smith at the Superior Training Centre.
CCN PROVIDES A roundup of the new units of competency being developed in a bid to upskill Australian technicians.
It follows a review of the UEE11 Electrotech- nology Training Package which was first en- dorsed in 1999. Many of the units in the old train- ing package were based on modules developed 30 years ago.
While the basic fundamentals remain the same, there have been many changes in tech- nology, equipment, standards, work practices and refrigerants.
The knowledge and skills required to be a RAC technician today are dramatically different to those of 30 years ago.
The new Certificate III in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration includes a number of new units of competency which are currently being finalised on consultation with industry.
The new version of Certificate III has a final implementation date of October 2022.
One unit currently in development covers the maintenance of fire dampers, smoke dampers, smoke and heat vents and air handlers.
Technicians will be able to maintain air han- dling equipment for fire and smoke control sys- tems. The new unit will be submitted in July 2021.
Another skill set in demand covers the instal- lation, commissioning, servicing and mainte- nance of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air conditioning systems.
These systems are typically installed with an in- verter added to the compressor to provide variable motor speed rather than just on/off operation.
VRF units work only at the needed rate allowing for substantial energy savings at load conditions.
VRFs come in two system formats, two pipe and three pipe systems. They have Heat Recov- ery (HR) features allowing these systems to si- multaneously heat certain zones while cooling others. A typical VRF system is complex espe- cially the control systems.
Research on high performance technology
TODAY’S TECHNICIAN MUST be skilled in the use of natural refrigerants.
To comply with the HFC phasedown, organi- sations are seeking efficient systems that can also reduce indirect CO2 emissions.
The use of the highest-performance technol- ogy is essential for combining natural refriger- ants and high efficiency.
There are several variables to consider: the unique characteristics of natural refriger- ants, such as high pressures with R-744 (CO2) cycles and the flammability of hydrocar- bons.
A new whitepaper by Carel’s HVACR technical knowledge specialist, Miriam Solana, brings to-
gether years of study and research into natural refrigerants.
“Our intention with this document is to con- tribute to making available as much theoretical information as possible, and providing an over- view of the technologies for optimising energy savings and creating systems with the lowest to- tal CO2 emissions,” she said.
“At CAREL we believe in the importance of supporting broad use of these refrigerants, which represent a concrete and feasible response to environmental sustainability.
“We need to continue to study and carry out research: the goal of innovation is to achieve sys- tems that are compatible with the unique char-
acteristics of natural refrig- erants and in compliance with regulations, without sacrificing efficiency.”
The natural refrigerants white paper is divided into five parts. The first pro- vides a summary of the characteristics of natural refrigerants.
Whitepaper author, Miriam Solana.
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
The second examines what is available while the last three sections describe examples of modulating technologies and high-efficiency so- lutions. To download for free visit: https://www. carel.com/-natural-refrigerants-white-paper
18